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Senior Inspector Sanjay Surve of Tardeo police said, “Khedkar took the rifle with himself but forgot the live rounds. As he had forgotten, we didn’t register a case and started looking for the taxi.” (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty/Representational)

THE MUMBAI Police last week suspended a constable after he allegedly forgot 60 live rounds of bullets in a taxi. Constable Ganesh Gangadhar Khedkar, attached to the local arms department, was deputed to escort a jail inmate for a medical check-up on April 18. While returning, he forgot the cartridges in a taxi, said the police.

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“Khedkar was asked to escort Byculla Jail inmate Mehboob Jamadhar to JJ hospital. In case any accused tries to run, each constable is given an SLR Rifle along with a few rounds of bullets. Khedkar was given a rifle along with 60 live rounds,” said a senior police officer.

On April 18, Khedkar picked up Jamadhar from the jail and took him to the hospital. He later escorted Jamadhar back to Byculla jail in a police van. Following this, he took a taxi to his office in Tardeo. While getting off the taxi, he allegedly forgot the bullets. He only realised that the bullets had gone missing when he went back to the department to return the weapons.

Senior Inspector Sanjay Surve of Tardeo police said, “Khedkar took the rifle with himself but forgot the live rounds. As he had forgotten, we didn’t register a case and started looking for the taxi.”

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The taxi driver was identified with the help of his vehicle registration number found while scrutinising CCTV footage. “He was unaware of any live round lying in his taxi. When we checked the taxi, the bullets were found exactly where the constable had forgotten them,” said Surve.

The Tardeo police handed over the live rounds to Khedkar, who surrendered them to the department the next day. The police made a diary entry of the incident. Following this, the matter came to the knowledge of senior officers and an inquiry was ordered. The probe found Khedkar guilty and he was suspended on May 11.